Will the death of two MS brands accompany Windows 8 birth?

Will the death of two MS brands accompany Windows 8 birth? | Digital Media - CNET News CNET News @import "http://i.i.com.com/cnwk.1d/Ads/common/css/SponsoredTextLink/sponsoredTextLink.live.css"; Manage Packages With UPS My Choice Home Reviews Cell Phones Camcorders Digital Cameras Laptops TVs Car Tech Forums Appliances Cell Phone Accessories Components Desktops E-book Readers Games and Gear GPS Hard Drives & Storage Headphones Home Audio Home Video Internet Access Monitors MP3 Players Networking and Wi-Fi Peripherals Printers Software Tablets Web Hosting You are here: News Latest News Mobile Startups Cutting Edge Media Security Business Tech Health Tech Crave Apple Microsoft Politics & Law Gaming & Culture Blogs Video Photos RSS Download Windows Software Mac Software Mobile Apps Web Apps The Download Blog CNET TV How To Computers Home Theater Smartphones Tablets Web Marketplace Log In | Join Log In Join CNET Sign in with My profile Log out

CNET News Digital Media Will the death of two MS brands accompany Windows 8 birth? by Charles Cooper February 24, 2012 5:33 PM PST Follow @coopydoop

Microsoft is reportedly planning to kill off Windows Live,Zune brands next week at the announcement of the preview version of Windows 8.

Remember the old "Saturday Night Live" catchphrase skit that "Generalissimo Francisco Franco is still dead." That one came to mind after a report in The Verge surfaced on Friday suggesting that the "Windows Live" brand, an old and confusing Microsoft branding decision, and Zune, one of the company's recent embarrassments, are living on borrowed time.

The changes are supposed to be announced next week in Barcelona when Microsoft unveils the Consumer Preview version of Windows 8.

Microsoft didn't have any immediate comment on the report, which doesn't quote any sources. But if the decision gets confirmed, I'm sure we'll all be shocked, shocked by the news.

How can I say this without being unkind? Well, I can't. Suffice to say that Windows Live rates special mention in the marketing hall of fame as one of the most confusing brand names ever invented by a tech company (and that's saying a lot.) Over the years, Microsoft forced its users to struggle with a series of tongue-twisters invented by Microsoft. Perhaps the biggest problem was that Windows Live became a catch-all for myriad applications and services ranging from e-mail to apps. A longtime and keen observer of the Microsoft scene, Preston Gralla, neatly summed up the conundrum Microsoft faced almost from the get-go:

Given that many "Windows Live" services were accessible via a Web browser from non-Windows platforms, what did Windows have to do with them? Nothing. And why should DVD editing software carry the same branding as online storage? There was no reason at all.

Outside of that, sounded like a great idea at the time.

The highlights: Once Windows 8 comes out, Windows Live apps will get put into a collection of preinstalled applications in "Windows Communications" while "Windows Live ID" will become "Microsoft Account. The Zune music and video service brand is going to get replaced by the "Xbox Live for Windows" name.

You can read the details of the reported revamp here.

Charles Cooper Charles Cooper is an executive editor at CNET News. He has covered technology and business for more than 25 years, working at CBSNews.com, the Associated Press, Computer & Software News, Computer Shopper, PC Week, and ZDNet. E-mail Charlie.

Follow @coopydoop Topics: Software, E-commerce Tags: Windows Live, Microsoft

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Warner cut off Netflix to profit from Whitney's death? Not true

Warner cut off Netflix to profit from Whitney's death? Not true | Digital Media - CNET News CNET News @import "http://i.i.com.com/cnwk.1d/Ads/common/css/SponsoredTextLink/sponsoredTextLink.live.css"; Manage Packages With UPS My Choice Home Reviews Cell Phones Camcorders Digital Cameras Laptops TVs Car Tech Forums Appliances Cell Phone Accessories Components Desktops E-book Readers Games and Gear GPS Hard Drives & Storage Headphones Home Audio Home Video Internet Access Monitors MP3 Players Networking and Wi-Fi Peripherals Printers Software Tablets Web Hosting You are here: News Latest News Mobile Startups Cutting Edge Media Security Business Tech Health Tech Crave Apple Microsoft Politics & Law Gaming & Culture Blogs Video Photos RSS Download Windows Software Mac Software Mobile Apps Web Apps The Download Blog CNET TV How To Computers Home Theater Smartphones Tablets Web Marketplace Log In | Join Log In Join CNET Sign in with My profile Log out .mad_center {text-align:center;} .mad_center div, .mad_center table, .mad_center iframe, .mad_center a img {margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;}

CNET News Digital Media Warner cut off Netflix to profit from Whitney's death? Not true by Dara Kerr February 20, 2012 9:17 PM PST Follow @darakerr

Hearsay that Warner Bros. was looking to make a "very large amount of money" on DVD sales of "The Bodyguard" after the singer's death was false.

The rumor mill turned out to be wrong this time.

News that Warner Bros. yanked Netflix's streaming rights to Whitney Houston's hit movie "The Bodyguard" went viral a couple of days ago. The company's purported greedy goal was to make a "very large amount of money on the DVD sales" from "all the publicity after Whitney Houston's passing," according to Dan McDermott, the host of Web show Google Plus Week.

However, in a blog post today, McDermott apologized and announced that both he and the Netflix representative that told him that information were completely wrong.

What in fact happened is that Netflix lost streaming rights to the 1992 Whitney Houston and Kevin Costner romantic thriller as of December 31, 2011, before she died on February 11.

The idea of corporations profiting from tragedy isn't actually too farfetched. Just last week, Sony was forced to apologize for substantial price hikes on two of Houston's albums in the U.K., which came one day after she was found dead.

Even though "The Bodyguard" can't be streamed on Netflix, the DVD is still available; and, as of this writing, Amazon Prime members can also stream it for free.

Dara Kerr Dara Kerr, a freelance journalist based in the Bay Area, is fascinated by robots, supercomputers and Internet memes. When not writing about technology and modernity, she likes to travel to far-off countries. She is a member of the CNET Blog Network and is not an employee of CNET.

Follow @darakerr Topics: Video, Corporate and legal Tags: sony, warner bros, movie streaming, whitney houston, netflix, bodyguard

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